Athletics' recent roster move further validates Brewers' lopsided Andrew Vaughn trade

It has been just over 13 months since the Milwaukee Brewers traded Aaron Civale to the Chicago White Sox for Andrew Vaughn, and just over one year since the latter made his Brew Crew debut. It's as safe to say now as it was when the two sides executed the trade that the Brewers are the clear winners of the swap.

Since joining the Brewers, Vaughn has brought consistency to a position at which Milwaukee has lacked it since franchise legend Prince Fielder left for the Detroit Tigers back in 2012. Sure, the Brewers have had strong half-seasons from first basemen in the meantime, like the one Jesús Aguilar put together before the All-Star Break in 2018, or the second half Rowdy Tellez posted in 2021. However, in the revolving door that is the Brewers' recent first base situation, Vaughn's performance over the last year takes the crown.

Vaughn, the now-28-year-old first baseman, whom the White Sox drafted with the 3rd overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, has a slash line of .309/.384/.485 since making his Brewers debut, with a 142 wRC+ that suggests he's been 42% better than the league average hitter. He holds a 10.4% walk rate and a 13.2% strikeout rate during his time in Milwaukee and has collected 70 RBI in 119 games played. While Vaughn's power has been zapped slightly this year due to a broken hamate bone that he suffered on Opening Day, the former Golden Spikes (best collegiate player award) winner has reinvented himself at the plate, hitting for a .311 batting average and reaching base in nearly 40% of plate appearances.

By all accounts, Vaughn has been excellent for the Brewers, and could continue to be excellent for them for another season, as he won't reach free agency until after the 2027 campaign. Meanwhile, the trade is made even better for the Brewers by the fact that Civale's career has taken something of a nosedive since he left Milwaukee, as further evidenced by the fact that the veteran right-hander was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday.

Former Brewers starter Aaron Civale left searching for next big-league opportunity after Athletics' DFA

Disgruntled by the fact that he was being asked to switch to the relief role, one he had never assumed throughout his baseball career, just four months before he was set to hit free agency, Civale requested to be traded by the Brewers -- something that rarely happens in MLB. Milwaukee, who was making room for Jacob Misiorowski in their rotation by moving Civale to the 'pen, happily fulfilled the right-hander's wishes and sent him to the White Sox for Vaughn.

Civale was granted the opportunity to remain a big-league starting pitcher, but he didn't take advantage of the opportunity, posting a 5.37 ERA in 13 starts before the White Sox placed him on waivers at the end of August. The then-30-year-old Civale took the Red Line up to Addison after the Chicago Cubs claimed him off waivers, and subsequently made five appearances out of the North Siders' bullpen during the month of September. Ironically, Civale pitched against the Brewers in the postseason, and turned in a scoreless 4.1-inning relief appearance in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Despite his lack of success during the 2025 campaign, Civale's track record and a strong free agent market for starting pitchers landed him a one-year, $6 million contract with the Athletics this past offseason. The 2026 season started strong for Civale, who was sporting a 2.70 ERA through his first eight starts of the season, but the wheels quickly fell off. Heading into the All-Star Break, Civale was boasting a 5.42 ERA, which led the Athletics to designate the veteran right-hander for assignment, despite him still being owed roughly $2.5 million for the remainder of the season.

Civale's contract means he will likely pass through waivers, receive an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Athletics, reject that assignment due to his service time, and ultimately be granted free agency. His home and away splits indicate that if Civale can just get away from the Athletics' minor league home ballpark, he may be able to revitalize his career.

Regardless of what Civale's next steps are, one thing remains clear: the Brewers trading half a season of starts from the veteran right-hander for two and a half years of Vaughn's production remains one of the better trades of the Matt Arnold era.

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